Elk Horn, IA

Common Language Location Identifier (CLLI): EKHRIAQ0010
Geolocation (GL) code: IA1250

Site Data

Address: off SR 173, about 3.2 mi. south of Elk Horn, IA
Latitude: N41-32-42 (41.54500)
Longitude: W95-03-29 (-95.05806)
Elevation: 1405 ft. (428 M)

FCC Microwave License Data

Location: 3 mi. S of Elk Horn, Shelby County, IA
Active AT&T Callsigns: KAB20 (as of March 1998)
Canceled AT&T Callsigns: unknown

Thanks to Terry Michaels for his contributions to these sections.

Description

Elk Horn consists of a 203 ft. (62 M) type A-2 steel lattice tower (the original, extensively modified), the original, small one-story equipment shelter, and a much larger one-story concrete building typical of AT&T microwave station construction in the 1960s. The tower supports a mixture of antennas: Western Electric KS-15676 horn-reflectors, conical horn-reflectors, and conventional and high-performance parabolics.

History

Elk Horn was built in 1950 as an auxiliary (relay) station on AT&T's first transcontinental microwave route, whose Chicago - San Francisco segment began service on August 17, 1951. It linked the relay stations at Adair, IA to the east and Minden, IA to the west.

Elk Horn's tower was originally constructed as a type "A", whose single top platform supported four KS-5759 delay-lens antennas. As the station grew, a square lattice steel column was added to the center of the platform, which in turn supported a second platform above the first, thereby converting the tower to a type "A-2". After the removal of the four original delay-lens antennas, the tower could then support a total of eight of the horn-reflector antennas which replaced them. Additional horn antennas were side-mounted at several places on the tower, along with pipe mounts for parabolic dishes.

Eventually Elk Horn became a microwave junction station, having in 1979 routes to Portsmouth, Oakland and Griswold, IA in addition to its original destinations.

AT&T sold the Elk Horn to American Tower Corporation, which offers space on the tower for lease to cellular telephone companies and other wireless communications providers. American Tower has produced a site brochure describing the facility.

Images

*Select an image to view a larger version and description*
Courtesy of Jim Hebbeln	Courtesy of Jim Hebbeln	Courtesy of Jim Hebbeln
Courtesy of Terry Michaels	Courtesy of Terry Michaels	Courtesy of Terry Michaels	Courtesy of Terry Michaels	Courtesy of Terry Michaels

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